What map should I use and why?

[Yolky]

I tried continents and the New world map (forget what it is called, the one where everyone is on the same continent)

I like on continents that you have more time to develope but it gets lonley pretty fast, guess I got use to the New World maps where its congested and you meet everyone.

I am going to start a new game again, and want to know, what should I use and why.

I like the New World Map but am afraid once I get to the New World, that the AI won't and I will have a continent to myself and the game will be to easy. Is that the case? Will the AI make a bee line for the new world?

Or should I just do Continets that way all the continets will be developed and I will have a hard time to conquer them.

I would love your opnions on the issues.

[Blake]

The AI is nearly completely ignorant of the New World. It'll make some health-hearted efforts to colonize it, but they wont really bother developing it, nor mounting full scale invasions of the barbarian cities.

On the other hand it's interesting anyway. You can play a difficulty level higher, and the New World can be challenging economically to colonize, due to distance upkeep and such, and the need for a large army to secure both the old and new worlds.

[LDiCesare]

I made my own script in part because I didn't like the fact that continents were so lonely. The result is very random in terms of landmasses, but I most often get severak neighbours on my continent and there are other continents populated too. You can try it here: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...hreadid=145842
if interested.

[Yolky]

any more opnions?

[djpsychonaut]

I like Terra maps too, but like Blake says the AI sucks at really taking advantage of the New World. Continents are still my favorite. It's nice to not meet ALL of the civs right off the bat.

As far as Highlands, Ice Age, and all those other types of maps, I'm really all set. The don't really have the variety that I'm looking for in my civ games.

[pauli]

my friends and i mostly play lakes, with low sea level. you maximize the amount of land without being stuck on a flat world. since you have to expand in all directions at once, you never know how your empire will end up looking. lots of fun.

though last night, a friend and i started a game on a hub map. it's... different. really different.

terra is fun, but i think it would be best for competitive mp, rather than coop or sp. it could also stand to have slightly more flexibility. north america shouldn't be automatically larger than south america, australia shouldn't always be in the south, eurasia shouldn't always be in the north, etc.

most of the scripts are useless due to the flat world thing. i'm hoping someone will come out with a good script for maps that wrap both ways. it was a blast in ctp, so long as you didn't get stuck in the polar band - and i think the civ4 scripting can better cope with things like that.

[Markgraf]

Any reason why there's no true "random" map where you don't know if there's one continent (pangea) or seven, or if there's an old and new world? Would it be too hard for Firaxis to code in or something? Knowing that there's a "new world" really blows the authenticity of the mystery of world when you "select" a terra map.

[Aro]

Originally posted by Markgraf


Knowing that there's a "new world" really blows the authenticity of the mystery of world when you "select" a terra map.

Totally agreed.

[LDiCesare]

Markgraf, you can check the map script I linked to above. My script provides something random. You might get a pangaea, or 3 continents, or 2, or maybe 4. Preventing a civ from spawning on a landmass is possible and it's very easy to make it a random chance rather than alwyas like Terra.